Chutro and Gurjo, which had been going to waste in forests until now due to lack of understanding of their importance, have finally found a market. Farmers are now busy collecting these medicinal plants after a Chinese company, Chifu Biotechnology Pvt. Ltd., established at the banks of Kaligandaki River in Kushma Municipality-5, began processing Chutro roots, stems, and Gurjo.
The company, set up with an investment of Rs. 8 crore (80 million) on 42.5 ropani of leased land, employs three Chinese and 31 Nepali workers. The company has started paying collectors Rs. 25 per kilogram for Chutro stems, Rs. 40 per kilogram for Chutro roots, and Rs. 20 per kilogram for Gurjo.
With these plants that have been unutilized in fields and forests for centuries now being purchased, farmers from villages across the district are scrambling to collect them. According to Tika Pun from Modi Rural Municipality-4 Kyang, the number of people going to forests daily to collect Chutro has increased dramatically as it provides sufficient income with minimal effort and investment.
Sher Bahadur Pun, a young man from Jaljala Rural Municipality-6 Shalija, reported earning Rs. 55,000 by selling 1,500 kilograms of Chutro and Gurjo in just two weeks. Meanwhile, Jagannath Sharma from Phalewas Municipality-7 Limithana noted that while Chutro is easy to collect, finding Gurjo takes more time, and suggested that attention should be paid to expanding cultivation of these plants.
The factory, which aims to collect 730 metric tons of Chutro and Gurjo annually, has reported processing less than 20 tons in four months. Registered with the Department of Industry under the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, the company processes Chutro and Gurjo into powder form and exports it to China.
However, concerned stakeholders have protested, saying that while collection and sale of these medicinal plants is ongoing, there has been no attention paid to their long-term use and cultivation expansion. As protests increased, a joint team from the Division Forest Office, District Administration Office, and District Coordination Committee conducted an on-site inspection of the industry.
According to Division Forest Officer Jhyamnarayan Sapkota, the foreign company was found to be operating the project without conducting an Initial Environmental Examination. Though the forest office issued orders to immediately stop collection activities after the inspection, locals report that the company has ignored these orders and continues processing operations.
Hari Kumar Shrestha, manager of Chifu Biotechnology Pvt. Ltd., claimed that the Initial Environmental Examination report has not yet been approved but is in the final process. Payun Rural Municipality issued a notice on March 10 to stop the collection of Chutro and Gurjo, and Chief Administrative Officer Jivan Gaire stated that collection activities have now been completely halted in the municipality.
The company has reported that its processing industry targets the districts of Parbat, Myagdi, Baglung, Kaski, Lamjung, Arghakhanchi, Gulmi, and Syangja.